The present invention relates generally to a filter pin integrated circuit socket kit, and more particularly to a device for providing electromagnetic protection to integrated circuits in a convenient and easily customized package.
Electrical transients can cause "upset" of circuit operations or actually destroy the circuit components including integrated circuits (ICs). Systems are protected against this threat by using shielding, filters and electrical surge arrestors (ESAs) on the outside of circuit boxes, and metal oxide varistors transorbs, surgectors, zener diodes, and spark gaps on power and signal lines. These are all discrete circuit components which use up valuable circuit board space, must be specified at design time, and are expensive when applied individually. As a result, some circuits are designed and built without adequate transient protection. The discrete devices also add parasitic capacitance and inductance to the circuit which may affect circuit performance.
United States patents of interest include U.S. Pat. No. 3,555,374, to Usuda, which teaches a field effect transistor having a protective diode in its gate region to protect the gate electrode from dielectric breakdown. U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,471 to Aigo provides conductor strips wherein all conductor strips of each chip are connected together protecting the semiconductor chip from electrostatic breakdown.